Sisemore leads Crusaders past Jags

St. Bernard’s advances to elite eight of NorCals after beating Jags

The St. Bernard’s girls withstood a late comeback and rode a stellar night from the free-throw line to advance to the elite eight of the Division-IV NorCals on Wednesday night.

Jasa Sisemore and Emily Gardner were both outstanding for the Crusaders throughout, as St. Bernard’s held off a physical and stubborn Kimball team for a 52-50 victory in Eureka.

If defensive intensity has been the story so far for the St. Bernard’s girls in what has been a memorable postseason run, it was the team’s free-throw shooting that saw them advance this time around.

The Crusaders nailed 26-of-38 from the line, exactly half their points total.

Sisemore was instrumental in that run, finishing with a game-high 26 points, including an 18-of-24 effort from the line as she was fouled time and again driving to the basket and made the visitors pay every time.

“Jasa was special tonight,” St. Bernard’s head coach Mark Gardner said. “It’s not a surprise for those of us around her in practice every day.”

Emily Gardner, meanwhile, was a force inside the paint at both ends of the court, finishing with nine points and countless rebounds that led to second and third opportunities.

“Emily does a lot of things that don’t necessarily show up (in the stats).” the coach said.

It was the visitors who came out the stronger of the two teams and opened up a quick 5-0 lead while giving the home fans reasons for concern.

Especially the play of Division-I bound Raziya Potter, who finished with a team-high 16 points for the visitors in her final high school game before she takes her talents on to San Jose State.

But as they have all postseason, the St. Bernard’s girls soon settled down, going on a 13-4 run and holding a slender one-point advantage going into the second quarter.

The physical Jaguars, who came into the showdown 24-6, continued to send the Crusaders to the line in the second quarter, and the Crusaders continued to make them pay, keeping them ahead in a tight game.

If Sisemore caused the Kimball defense problems slicing her way to the basket in the first half, it would get worse after the interval.

The junior forward was almost unstoppable after the break, scoring all 13 of the Crusaders points in the third quarter, including a 9-for-12 effort from the line.

The Jaguars got hot from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, cutting into a nine-point deficit with four 3-pointers to pull within one with 90 seconds remaining.

But the Crusaders defense held tough down the stretch, with Sisemore adding one more late free throw for good measure.

“We really did play fantastic,” Mark Gardner said. “We’re playing our best basketball right now. I’m so proud of the girls for the way they played and the way they composed themselves against a very good Kimball team.”

The No. 8 seeded Crusaders (19-12) will now play at Woodside Priory, the No. 1 seed in Division IV, in Portola Valley on Saturday.